Mom, Dad, I made it through.”
“We lost everything, but we’re OK.”
“Dad, we’re all OK except Grandma. We can’t find her.”
These are just a few of the many messages that Alabama Baptists Christy and Rick Hardin have passed on to loved ones of residents in Biloxi, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29.
“(The hurricane survivors) want to let people outside the area know they’re OK,” Christy Hardin said. “We’ve seen more of a need for that in this disaster.”
Deployed to Biloxi Aug. 30 with the Alabama state communications unit, the Hardins are using their skills as ham radio operators to keep the lines of communication open.
And although sending messages is but a part of her job, it’s Hardin’s favorite part.
She said the communications unit was scheduled to shut down operations in Biloxi by Sept. 10 or 11. It is stationed at First Baptist Church, Biloxi, with a feeding unit from Mississippi as well as cleanup/recovery teams and a shower unit.
During their nearly two weeks’ deployment, Hardin said truckloads of supplies have come in daily. The team began a wish list of needs in the area, and churches and associations wanting to help fulfilled that list as best they could.
“Every day and into the night, trucks have pulled up and said, ‘I am from such and such church from this city and state with a load of diapers and water,’” Hardin said. “First Baptist Biloxi has turned into a major distribution center.”
That helping attitude also reached into areas not directly hit by Katrina, as disaster relief teams were active in Alabama shelters.
The disaster relief feeding team and shower unit from Birmingham Baptist Association spent several days helping Red Cross shelters in Birmingham.
“We would not have made it without them,” said Wayne Smith, shelter manager of the shelter at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. “They were absolutely outstanding.”
He said the team served about 2,000 meals a day to evacuees at five area shelters, as well as those who were staying in nearby hotels.
As of press time, 5,000 disaster relief volunteers in 239 units from 33 state conventions were actively serving in the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to Joe Conway, spokesman for Southern Baptist disaster relief. Teams were also beginning to rotate out to relieve those involved in the initial response, he added.
“The scope of this disaster is so large, the number of people (actively) engaged may reach the 10,000 mark,” he said.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) disaster relief — organized by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) — is the third-largest volunteer relief organization in the United States, and FEMA and others appreciate that, said Tommy Puckett, director of disaster relief for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM).
“FEMA is saying that, ‘We know you, as a denomination, are going to make this (relief response) come about,’” Puckett said. “They see the faith-based ministries as being an integral part of this nation (recovering) in every aspect.”
Alabama had 150 disaster relief trained volunteers involved in the initial wave of response to Katrina and will probably have close to 200 mobilized at the high point of the efforts, Puckett said.
SBOM’s Web site noted that by the twelfth day of the response, Alabama disaster relief volunteers from as many as 19 associations had cooked more than 60,000 meals, washed 234 loads of laundry and completed 149 cleanup and recovery jobs such as tree removal and mud out work.
Massive response
Baptist Press reported that overall, 56 mobile kitchens were deployed within the first week to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Two weeks into the response, more than 1.3 million meals had been prepared and 7,967 showers had been provided. The scope of the effort has expanded to include water purification, child care, more chain saw and recovery crews and 50 chaplains deployed.
As of press time, Southern Baptists had also given an unprecedented $2 million to Hurricane Katrina efforts through NAMB, Baptist Press reported. NAMB will release funds to affected state Baptist conventions as they determine the needs and is already funding ministry needs of disaster relief units on the field including more than $100,000 from Southern Baptist hunger funds.
Alabama Baptists are sending a much higher number of personal checks to SBOM than in the past, according to Bobby DuBois, SBOM associate executive director.
As of Sept. 7, SBOM had received $215,000 in disaster relief funds earmarked for Hurricane Katrina and had released $35,000 for disaster relief efforts. DuBois said SBOM was set to distribute the remaining balance Sept. 13.
The initial shortage of supplies has also been taken care of, Conway said.
The effects of Katrina will be felt for years, both Conway and Puckett acknowledged. Conway said the number of disaster relief volunteers on the field could stay at the 5,000 mark for a month or two.
And as the transition is made from immediate relief into rebuilding, the need for nondisaster relief trained volunteers to respond in ways such as covering damaged roofs with tarps and continuing cleanup efforts will be great.
Both SBOM and NAMB will be posting listings of opportunities for teams to work in the affected areas on their Web sites (www.alsbom.org and www.namb.net).
Conway noted that churches can also register for two new intiatives on NAMB’s Web site — Adopt a Church and Houses of Hope.
Adopt a Church suggests that partnering churches assist affected churches by sending missions and construction teams to help in rebuilding, provide care packages, take up a special offering, encourage and strengthen staff leadership skills and assist pastors by replacing lost or damaged resources.
Puckett said, “We want churches to get back online with their normal activities as soon as possible because that’s a healing aspect.” He also urged those going to affected areas to be sensitive to three issues:
-Do you have a personal connection between the churches that can help work out logistical problems?
-Can the church members you’re going to help provide housing, food and other necessary supplies for you?
-Do you have enough gas to get to the area and also to travel back on, or is there someplace you can buy gas in the area?
One positive result of Katrina has been to spur Alabama Baptists to get training and certification in disaster relief work.
An introduction to disaster relief held by Shelby Baptist Association at First Baptist Church, Pelham, Sept. 8, drew more than 300 people — 30 times more than the expected 10 or so.
Although it will not certify those who attend to work in disaster relief, it does open the door to further training and certification, Puckett noted.
Thomas Wright, director of missions for Mobile Baptist Association, said this training is one of the best ways people can help.
“Trained individuals are best able to respond and are the first ones to be called in to help,” he said.
All these reactions show the heart of Alabama Baptists, Puckett said.
“Our people want to help with human needs, hoping it will lead to spiritual needs being met, which is at the very heart of (Alabama Baptists) wanting to serve,” he said.
“Our people want to see people who are hurting have a relationship with God, but they know you have to meet physical needs first to earn the right to share Jesus Christ.”
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